David A. Rice feels like Mitt Romney wrote him off.
The 61-year-old has always been a values-based voter, generally votes Republican and could be a key vote in the swing state of Florida. But he's also among the 47% of Americans that Mitt Romney said don't pay income tax and rely on government support.
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president no matter what," Romney says in a clip from a secretly filmed private donor meeting in May, which was first posted on Monday afternoon. "There are 47% who are with him, who are dependent on government, who believe that, that they are victims, who believe that government has the responsibility to care for them. Who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing."
Romney's '47%' – Washington's tax-break obsession to blame
Rice says he is working part-time and doesn't pay taxes because he can't find a good job. And the fact that Romney wrote him off in those comments is frustrating.
"I am insulted. I support you and you just wrote me off with the 47% who pay no taxes. In that group are those who cry every time they use food stamps; people who would trade them in a minute for a real job. In that group are Christians who shudder at the thought of voting for abortion and gay rights," he wrote in an iReport. "You have strengths that appeal to the demographic you just wrote off ... use it! In the middle of rich supporters you cannot afford to write off a huge group with a careless word."
The 61-year-old said that he has been forced once or twice to take food stamps - and unlike what Romney contends in his comments - he maintains it was not something he was proud of or hopes to ever have to do again.
"It really hurt me," the iReporter told CNN. "It was not something that I wanted to do, I did it because I didn't have a job."
Rice says he didn't think it was right for Romney to lump every low-income person into the same group.
"Not everyone who takes food stamps is a food stamps junkie," Rice told CNN. "There are people who think the government owes them a living and that the government ought to take care of them and be their momma and daddy all their life. That doesn't apply to everyone."
It all left Rice a bit uneasy.
Which leads to the big questions swirling around the Romney campaign: How much damage will Romney's comments do to his chances for winning the election? Were his comments a big enough gaffe, combined with previous missteps, to really dent his campaign? Were his comments just the brutal truth others don't want to hear? Will it sway the votes of Republicans, independents or the undecided?
Rice says he'll still be voting for Romney because of the candidate's social views. But he knows it may not be the same for others.
"I think it was a mistake on his part because he insulted a lot of people who he needs to vote for him," he said.
CNN asked our readers on Facebook what they thought about the remarks and more than 71% said Romney was wrong and should apologize. Twenty-four percent of readers who answered our unscientific poll said he was right, and it was something someone needed to say. Just about 4.5% felt that Romney was right but shouldn't have phrased the remarks the way he did.
Nevin Sanli, from Los Angeles, California, said he is in the 47% and Romney's recent remarks, as well as other gaffes, have sealed his decision to vote for Obama.
"I never took a penny in help or government assistance money or otherwise. I own two businesses, and all I have been doing, along with my business partners, is creating jobs. I am not a victim," Sanli said in response to the CNN poll on Facebook. "I worked hard and built it all from scratch and I pay a lot of taxes. I am not as rich as Romney, but I sure pay a much bigger percentage of my income in taxes than he does. I find his remarks to be un-American, shocking and insulting."
And definitely unbecoming a president, he added.
"Elitism, silver-spoon arrogance and outright divisive statements, with undertones of racism, cannot be attributes of an American president," Sanli wrote.
For his part, Romney has stood behind the comments from the secretly recorded video. They were an honest reflection of his campaign's message, he said.
"This is a message I'm carrying day in and day out and will carry over the coming months," Romney said on Fox News. "This is a decision about the course of America, where we're going to head. We've seen the president's policies play out over the last four years."
Kristopher Daughtrey agreed with those tough words and took them to show that Romney won't shy away from the truth and will stick to his convictions.
"I applaud Romney for his remarks. He's the only one willing to not sugarcoat it. I'm not a huge supporter of either party, but at least Romney has the guts to speak out frankly about it, instead of Obama, Congress, and other politicians trying to justify their actions constantly or running away with their tail between their legs," Daughtrey said. "If you're going to be president then you need to have the backbone to walk the walk and not just talk about it."
Jason Asselin, an iReporter from Iron Mountain, Michigan, is an independent who says that he generally votes for the best candidate, despite their affiliation, though he likes the ideas and stances of the tea party.
While Asselin is normally a critic of Obama, he said Romney's comments really angered him because he doesn't pay taxes, but it isn't because he doesn't want to.
"I try paying taxes each year and every year they say we don't make enough, it isn't that I don't want to pay my taxes - they won't take them," he says. "Our government put rules and regulations in place for the lower class of people. It isn't our fault for falling under that. I don't like being called the 47%, I'd like to be called American."
Asselin said he is frustrated that Romney makes assumptions about how he will vote. And he is not alone.
Jeff Zicker, 21, might have been a candidate for the 47% category. He's college-aged, but left college because he landed a job performing with a national Broadway tour. He worked two jobs all through college, and these days he pays all his taxes, which puts him in the 53% category.
“For (Romney) to say his plan only appeals to those who don’t victimize themselves just further proves how out of touch he is with the rest of the American public,” he said.
Zicker is a moderate Democrat who will be voting for Obama this fall.
“I honestly believe that somebody that would say that a large of a portion of Americans, that this group victimizes themselves and tries to appeal to voters in that way, I don’t think that shows that they would be fit in any way to be president," he said.
But others say that Romney is merely beginning a dialogue that many Americans refuse to have. Steven Evans said that he thinks the discussion is an important one as the country moves forward.
"It is time to start a national dialogue on whether we are creating a major dependency class," he said on Facebook. "I am glad to see him tell the truth. Let's decide whether we are going the way of Greece or the traditional USA."
But some believe that having that conversation with only half of the country is problematic.
“It’s not in touch with what America’s values are and what we should be in a country," Zicker said of Romney's comments. "At the end of the day, we’re all connected. What I do affects you economically and socially. We shouldn’t see it as an one-for-all system.”
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
If you are trying to get a job....trying to pay taxes....then you are not who Mitt is speaking about!!! Don't be so sensitive. I came from low income/food stamps/church donations, etc and worked myself up. I busted my ass! But there are many people I used to know that just take the free checks, disability, and any other hand-outs and just sit around. There are mothers who teach their daughters how to have kids out of wedlock to live off the gov! TRUTH! These are the people who are dragging us down! Please wake up!
Lurker – You're telling us not to get upset if what Romney said does not apply to us. What you may not be able to understand is that we are not that selfish. There are people, like myself, who see others struggling and it does no make us feel good. We see a great injustice in a government being bought by the wealthy and we want to stop it. We see Romney speaking about fellow American's with such disdain and promoting this stereotype that is inflammatory and we don't like it. It doesn't matter to us if it apply's to us because we actually care about the people who have to suck it up and get assistance somehow. We care that our children aren't getting the education they deserve. What we don't care much for is the real welfare cases that are the wealthy working hard and spending millions and billions to get out of paying taxes. Why does Romney focus so much on the poor from getting welfare but endorses subsidies to big Oil companies or tax cuts to the rich. What Romney wants to do is essentially the same thing Obama wants to do except in reverse – rather than give the rich more tax cuts. Thousands of millionaires don't pay taxes because they can legally find ways not to. Romney and Obama seem to be fightng the same exact fight, but in Romney's world it's the rich that continue to benefit by getting more rich and as many have said, the poor get poorer.
Do you really think that the poor people in the country are dragging us down? America is the one of the wealthiest nations in world. It is the polices of Mitt Romney that is dragging this country down. You had your change to depend on the government and fought your way out. Stop being so mean now that others are trying to fight their way out as well.
please name the names of the people you "used to know" that do those things – they are illegal under the present welfare laws. names? none? just what i though – perputating the myt of the black welfare mother that ragan started........
You're right. There are liars, cheats, and scoundrels at every level–the rich who want tax breaks because they create jobs, the poor who want handouts for doing nothing. You can't punish the majority of the people acting in good faith and being honest for the bad behavior of a few. And for Mitt Romney to blast people like me because I get money back at the end of the year, or (once) owed no taxes, using the same laws, codes, and system he uses to pay 13% taxes means he's a victim, too. Of the tax laws, which do need changed. I agree with him on that. It's too easy to get welfare, and too easy to hide your money in offshore accounts.
The gop lost 9 million jobs. Bring that up cnn. The gop economists have never been right about anything.
It's about jobs. The gop are out of touch and ran on jobs in 10 then fight against them to get our President.
He is an uncaring, unfeeling millionaire. The vast majority of people on govt assistance try to find work and just can't. And for a person who has outsourced tens of thousands of jobs to say this is unconscionable.
And for those in the 47% who support Romney, if he is elected you WILL lose any support from the govt when you are in trouble. Obama could have done this and lowered unemployment (by making everyone underemployed like Bush did) but he has extended aid to millions of Americans for your benefit.
Mitt does the 47% also include teachers, firefighters and cops who depend on government for their salaries?
Thats a given, of course not........they are jobs that every society needs......please, dont be so naive
Everyone has an opinion, i guess. Romney has shared his opinion of about 1 in 2 of voting class Americans. It's sad and pathetic, and those trying to defend this clown's once again reckless remarks, are no better than he. I wish you all would just pack up and get the hell out of my country. Go form your own country.
Tony....THANK U!!! Well said!!!
Truth hurts some people don't it? He didn't say it to hurt people; he said it because is needed to be said. We have more people on food stamps than any other time in history. Romney has a plan to create jobs and get our country going in the right path again. He may have not put it the way some people wanted him to, but think about it. When your employer comes down on you but ends the meeting with I know you can do and be more because I believe in you and your abilities. It hurts at first but then it sinks in that your still there. Now I know there are lots of people out there out of work, Obama has only made up for the jobs lost after he took office, he has not really brought us out of the RED yet or possibly never. Romney with his business experience will lift our country up again and with no apologies. It’s time to stand firm and tough and get back the country we love, and give the job to someone who won't spend his first four years blaming the last administration. Romney/Ryan 2012 all the way people, vote with your feet for a change and walk away from all this spending. Why Obama still has a check book is beyond me.
All caused by Republican policies....but then, you are not smart enough to see that.
When the hopeful canadiate states his plan for jobs I'll listen, so far nothing but smoke.
Are you basing your statement on a political stump speech? Has Romney explained his plan to you personally? He sure hasn't explained it to anyone else. But, let me guess. His plan is to create a bunch of immediate service oriented jobs like his buddy in my state of Texas, Slick Rick Perry. Let's face it, adults with children, who make minimum wage are in the 47%...the working poor. Or, maybe his plan is to create jobs by the year, let's say, 2020?
Ron in California, do you ever wonder what put people in the situations they are in that they need public assistance? Did we not all go through the same financial crisis that the "too big to fail" banks had to get bailed out for? Do the layoffs and bankrupted companies all across the nation not contribute to a population of needy people? When Corporations take more responsibility of people they hire and stop thinking of them as numbers that they can quickly erase from their payrolls, we might see improvement in outcomes. Rather than pointing the finger at people who have suffered too from the mess we went through together, why not take the same fight to those who caused the meltdown? why are they so immune? Why is it that if anyone mentions the financial crisis that it becomes a fight about pointing fingers and yet you and your supporters willingly point fingers at the less fortunate? Rather than point fingers at the moochers of welfare why not point fingers at the Madoff's of the country? People and corporations like them hurt America so much more than those on Food Stamps who get less than $200 a month. Where's the anger towards them? Why are you fighting the easy fight? It's so easy to demonize the less fortunate, the little moochers, grow some you know what's and fight against big corrup corprations. Fight against the banks who sit on trillions while the nation suffers. Fight against investment companies who find it easy to let companies go bankrupt because they'll get their profit anyway, who cares about the jobs and lives they affect. We need you to stand up to the real injustice in America,
BOTTOM LINE – WHO HANDLES OTHER PEOPLES MONEY BETTER?
Mitt Romney – Masters in Business Administration HARVARD, Law Degree HARVARD
Mitt Romney – MADE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS because he is one of the BEST and MONEY MANAGEMENT
Obumbles has been a low rent loser his entire life.... ...convict Tony Rezco had to 'give' him property for his 1st house
Mitt Romney lived a privileged life as a child. He inherited lots of the green stuff and as the old saying goes "it takes money to make money".
Romney was really good at making money for his investors...you know the other guys with lots of disposable income. And in the process he restructured and saved some companies. But he made most of his money putting people out of work and shipping their jobs overseas, selling off the company's assets and raiding pension funds.
He has shown nothing but contempt for those who are not in is tax bracket and included your parents and mine as "self-professed victims looking for a handout" because they are on social security and pay no taxes. He showed that same contempt for those people who work hard every day but don't make enough money to pay income taxes although they do pay payroll taxes, state and local sales taxes and perhaps property taxes. IMO that is truly shameful.
He handled other people's money well–his upper echelon love him. The workers who lost jobs through layoffs and outsourcing–no one handles their money, because they don't have any, so they don't need Romney. Silly poor people! How dare you lose money through no fault of your own! If only there was a risk to being an employee, as much as there is to being an employer that fails.
A huge misinformed lie, how many lazy Americans do you know? I don't know any, if you don't count intellectually lazy conservatives.
Gov. Romney and Representative Ryan seem to think that people living off of Social Security did not pay into the Social Security system allof their working lives. Of course, the fact that his tax returns show that he paid income tax last year it also indicatews he dsid not pay any social security tax. Why not? Because of of his income was passive rather than Earned. Social Security is not a welfare program. It's a pension program working Americans pay into while the receive Earned Income. Now, Rep. Ryan does pay FICA but not on all of his income. Why? Because it's capped at a litile more than $110,000. The other $70,000 h receives for his "service" in Congress is not subject ot FICA. Now, who is dependent on the Federal government? What hypocrits!
You rock! I did not know that, and have another argument when the people I work with start talking about how great Romney's going to be (I live in Republican country), I'll be able to bring up another point!
That is exactly wrong. It's not a pension program you inept fool, it was not created as a sole source of income for people to retire off of and nor should it be. Yes, people paid into SS, (except when SS started, it was a payrole tax rate lower than 1% and its now 12.5% for each you and and your employer and it's still broke, the actual amount individuals paid in varies greatly depending on when they entered and exited the workforce) even if we assume everyone paid in the exact same amount, most people get back more than what they put in. Its a ponzie scheme, not a pension plan. And guess whose left footing the bill? FICA is capped because if it wasn't it would be a far to blatant to hide the clear wealth distribution scheme because they would never get out what they put in. Though I'm 24, and i dont plan to ever see a dime of what i put in to pay for the bottom 2/3rds of the pyramid. There's simply not enough people above my generation to keep this gong. It's at its tipping point. and when in flips, the young and productive get crushed.
I think we can be sure that 100% of the Richey Rich Romney 1%'s are greed ridden narcissistic freaks
Why are you whining?
I am a One-percenter. I work extremely hard to be in that one percent. This doesn't mean that there are not a lot of other hard working people out there. The difference is I am already paying a ton in taxes. The difference also is that I am not a segment of the population which is bancrupting this country. If we don't work to solve this mess, we are all in trouble. So quit your crying and spend some time working on a solution instead of criticizing someone who was making a factual statement only.
I have worked in the community arena, and have with my own eyes seen many generations of families that have never worked or have any intention of working. Families that need to get $50 walmart gift cards so that they will take their children in for vaccinations. Thank you Mitt, for saying what you have.
Agree and think it's way past time to kick them off the welfare roles...maybe it will give them incentive to go to work.
Yes, I have seen that as well and it is sad. They are teaching each generation to be like the last and it has to stop somewhere.
People don't even know if Romney was referencing the 47% who are Obama supporters or the percent of people who don't pay income taxes (there is certainly a big difference)! How can we expect people to know what's true?
To be honest, by looking at the statement I think he is confused.
"But others say that Romney is merely beginning a dialogue that many Americans refuse to have."
Yes, I always start a conversation by insulting and demeaning the person I want to converse with...
I understand Mitt Romney's position perfectly. A comment like his, whether taken out of context or not, reflects a man who has never had to struggle. He is a product of his upbringing, like we all are. Because he's never been down on his luck, he has no sympathy-or worse-empathy-for those who are today, or have been at least once in their lives. As long as he gets his, that's what counts in his life, and if you're not successful in yours, that's just tough beans as far as he's concerned. A man like that has no business being the President of the United States. So what if he's a successful vulture-oops-venture capitalist. The President is the heartbeat and the conscience of the American people, rich OR poor. He symbolizes the last hope of freedom for people who suffer under brutal and tyrannical governments and oppressive religious dogma of ANY FAITH. With that perspective in mind, our current President, despite his race, his moral failings, or his political views, is not only the better man of the two for the job, but if you really want to look at the "brutal truth", he is the best we have right now. All you whining bloggers out there have NO CLUE what President Obama has to face, so SHUT UP and vote for the man if you want any chance of a decent life for the future.
Obama has been a miserable failure: 16 trillion debt, 8.2 unemployment, 1 in 6 living in poverty, 1 in 7 on food stamps, dollar down, wages declining...time for him to go.
Romney's statements have all the credibility of a Paul Ryan marathon time...NONE! They are utter and complete crapola. Mr. Romney's mother and father freely admitted they were on public welfare when they came to the United States so of course that makes them a part of the pathetic worthless dependent Americans who should have been thrown into the streets to toughen them up. Then there are the disabled war veterans who are also dependent on government and likewise should be told to tough it out. And there are all of the children who did nothing other than be born to someone who couldn't or wouldn't take care of them so they are obviously part of the moucher class that exists in the Randian fantasy universe occupied by Romney-Ryan and the rest of the adolescents tea smoking tea party wackos who invariably take more from the government than they put in and complain the most about it. Pathetic is about the best thing you can say about these statements.